Former clown files to run for Congress in SC, but his campaign is serious (mostly)

A former clown says he will run for Congress this year against incumbent U.S. Rep Ralph Norman.

We hear the jokes you’re making in your head now, but Camden native Steve Lough (pronounced “Low”) is an actual ex-Ringling Brothers Circus clown who now says he hopes to represent the Fifth Congressional District in Washington as a Democrat.

However, his announcement video indicates Lough will use his unique background as part of the campaign:

He’ll first have to get past the favorite in the race on the Democratic side, Sumter financial analyst Archie Parnell.

Lough said he grew up in Camden and graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in Anthropology before entering the circus. He briefly worked in Japan before taking a job with Ringling Brothers. He said he spent ten more years with McDonalds’ anti-bullying initiative.

“When I decided to move back home to Camden, SC, I Googled the 5th District,” he wrote in a post on the progressive website Daily Kos. “Ralph Norman, the Republican incumbent, is a real estate millionaire who took over his daddy’s business…the Democrat is Archie Parnell, a millionaire tax attorney who worked for Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong for 20 years and Exxon for 10 years.”

Norman won the seat in a special election last year after previous U.S. Rep. Mick Mulvaney resigned to become White House budget director. Most observers believe the seat is the most vulnerable for Republicans in the 2018 election if Democratic candidates were to improve their 2016 performance.

Lough’s Facebook timeline shows he has strong left-leaning opinions, including support for a single-payer healthcare system. He also repeatedly attacks large financial institutions he blames for hurting the middle class.

“If old Ralph and Archie aren’t afraid of clowns now, they will be shortly!” the letter concludes.